People in almost every time and place since the Middle Ages have put themedieval to work in different ways to create cultural meaning. How doesthe place, time, or space of the reception of the Middle Ages affect itsinterpretation? What elements of the fantasy of the medieval areselected, distilled, altered, or discarded? In what ways does theliterature or propaganda of the 19th Century American South, forinstance, differ from the medieval fantasies of World War II Germany? DoRenaissance authors on the border of the Middle Ages, such as Shakespeareand Spenser, 'do' medievalism differently from Calvino, from Eco, fromJohn Steinbeck, or from Marion Zimmer Bradley? Does medievalism incontemporary Asian literature or film manifest differently from Europeandreams of the Middle Ages? What prompts a culture to promote the fantasyof its medieval past?

At the 23rd Annual Conference on Medievalism, we will focus on the waysin which different regions (broadly conceived as nations, states,cultural groups, etc.) in different times and places have fantasizedabout and attempted to revive and revise aspects of the Middle Ages.Though papers that address this topic are especially encouraged,submissions on any aspect of medievalism or neomedievalism are invited,including the following:â€¢ Medievalism and its contemporary medium (film, digital media, etc.)â€¢ Medievalismand ethnic identityâ€¢ Medievalism and nationalismâ€¢ Medievalism in politicsâ€¢ Neomedievalism: continuing its definition and debateâ€¢ Medievalism in new media (games, software, virtual space, etc.)â€¢ The medievalism of religionâ€¢ Gendering and/or 'queering' the Middle Agesâ€¢ Marketing the Middle Agesâ€¢ The medievalist or neomedieval classroom space